


Sing Me The Song (Of My People)

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Uptown Funk, but no actual road trip in this one, mentions of Magic!Stiles, mentions of depression, post 5A, post highschool fic, road tripping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 08:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4659087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Stiles gets sad, depressed, lonely, nostalgic in that regret-fueled way that's more bitter than sweet, and Derek has learned that when it comes to pain and healing, he and Stiles are very different, so he finds himself doing things for Stiles that he never thought he would do for anyone, because he knows Stiles would do the same for him</p><p>"I'm too hot," he said in a monotone</p><p>Stiles jerked his head up, staring at him in surprise</p><p>He was always the one to say "I'm too hot"...</p><p>"Call the police and the fireman," he added a beat later</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sing Me The Song (Of My People)

**Author's Note:**

> **UNBETA'd**
> 
> Yesterday I was walking through the mall and Uptown Funk came on and because I'm a shameless Sterek shipper all I could think of was Stiles forcing the "Hot damn"s out of Derek and then for some reason I thought "Wait what if it's the other way around though?" and then something depressing happened to what was supposed to be a crack!fic and I blame this entire season for it

Sometimes Stiles gets sad

It's a wave of nostalgia mixed with regret and blended with bitterness

It hits suddenly and doesn't leave nearly as quickly

Derek hates seeing him that way but he understands it

He gives him his space and he lets him mourn whatever it is that he's mourning

Because that's what Derek likes

That's what Derek prefers

To be left alone until he can get himself together

Derek realizes pretty quickly that Stiles isn't the same way

He realizes it when they're home in the quiet and the neighbor's cat is outside snooping around and Stiles nearly sprints outside to pick up the cat

To hold her and cuddle her and talk baby talk to her and Derek hadn't realized it until that moment but Stiles doesn't deal with pain the same way he does

And if there's one thing Derek understands, it's how much it hurts when people try to give you the opposite of what you need in order to heal

Derek always hated people crowding him after the fire

Stiles probably hated being alone

So Derek decided not to leave him alone anymore

And after that he noticed a change

Stiles' depression didn't go away, his anxiety didn't disappear, the nostalgic sadness didn't vanish

But it got better

It happened a little less often and it healed a hell of alot faster

Derek always hated people trying to cheer him up

Stiles seemed to like it

It had been close to three months now since they did this

And they were finally starting to really get in a swing of things

They were finally starting to fall into step with eachother

"I don't WANT a coke with my name on it Stiles,"

"Well too bad, you're getting one, not all of us have the luxury of getting our names on coke bottles Derek and I'm not letting you waste this precious opportunity," Stiles insisted

Derek rolled his eyes but didn't argue, he knew better

"Der, we're going grocery shopping after this right?"

"Yeah,"

"Then it's official, I'm grabbing a Derek coke from one of those big Share A Coke bins!" he announced as he fist-pumped the air and skipped off of the escalator

"You say that as if it's so easy," Derek sighed, stepping carefully onto the ground and taking a few long strides to catch up to Stiles

"It is easy! You have an extremely common name my freind, it isn't like... like Darla or something that no one can ever find, I don't even know if they MAKE a Darla..."

Derek just rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his lower back to urge him to keep moving

"Still, that doesn't mean it'll be easy to find, think of all the Sarahs we've seen and we've only seen .. what? One Annie? And they're equally as common," he pointed out

He waited a beat but upon recieving no answer he grew concerned and looked down, seeing the pained loon on the other's face

"Stiles?" he asked worriedly, following his line of sight and seeing a girl across from them chatting with some freinds

It didn't hit him right away what the problem was but he finally noticed the Marvel leggings she was wearing and he resisted the urge to shudder

They were just like Kira's

"Sorry," Stiles mumbled, turning and walking away, not seeming to wait for Derek to catch up

It wasn't like they had left Beacon Hills for good

Or that the pack were on bad terms with eachother now

In fact they were closer than ever

Something about the "You must fall before you rise" thing and getting worse before it can get better he supposed

The thing is they had just gotten to that place- finally healing, finally good- when the summer ended and the school year began

No one stuck to the college plan Stiles had tried to build at the beginning of the year and they all ended up going their own ways, although they kept in touch daily with texts, emails, phone calls, video chats....

It wasn't nearly the same but it was better than Stiles once thought it would be

Personally, Derek thought it was better that way anyhow

Better that they had time apart, some breathing room, not feeling crammed in eachother's armpits all the time so there was no simmering frustration over the little things

He never voiced it though, he knew Stiles would disagree, and he knew- if he was being honest with himself- that if it was his pack, he'd disagree with him too

It wasn't that he wasn't in Scott's pack, in every technical sense he was

But he just didn't have the same bond that Stiles did with them, he didn't have the same bond that he had had with his own betas for the short time he had had them or, certainly, the same bond he had had with his family

If anyone had tried to tell him that time away from his family, or from his betas, was better than being with them constantly, he would have likely punched them

He wasn't really sure how he was justifying it with Stiles when he could never justify it with himself but that was just one more reason he never mentioned it to him

He knew the missing was there though

The longing, aching nostalgia for the familiar scents- even if Stiles wasn't a werewolf, you couldn't spend so much time with the same people and not unconsciously grow used to the scent of them- and for the comforting faces and the warm hugs...

Stiles missed it and Derek couldn't blame him

He spent more time with the younger members of the pack- Liam, Hayden, Mason and pack-adjacent Brett- than any of the other pack members

The obvious excuse was that Stiles was the only one who still lived in Beacon Hills

The truth was that Stiles was the only one who still wanted to hang onto them

Not like keeping them in the pack, but _hanging on_ , holding them close and tight, being in their lives as more than just a packmate

He wouldn't admit it and Derek wouldn't ask him to but Stiles truly cared for them- especially Liam

Derek would never say it out loud but he was scared for next year when they too would leave Beacon Hills on their own, away from eachother, away from the pack, away from Stiles

It was ironic that after everything that's happened Derek and Stiles would be the only ones still in Beacon Hills for the long haul and Stiles apologized for it constantly and casually as if Derek didn't have a choice

He had a choice

He chose his home

He chose Stiles

Some days were better than others and Stiles was, himself, better

He was happy and light and joking almost the way he was when Derek met him, but a little calmer, a little more subdued, a little more perpetually tired in a way that age brings to everyone

Other days he woke up practically sick and sludged through the day in a twilight headspace unable to stop touching Derek and silently begging for more contact even when they were bound together in the most physical way possible

The most common was the in-between

It was easier when they were traveling, and they traveled alot

They told people it was college and they were just close enough to come home some days when they had a half day or a weekend to spare

Not many people believed them and that was ok

They liked being on the road

Well, they liked being away from Beacon Hills

Traveling was nice, it was good, but they knew eachother and themselves well enough to know that the love of the open road was limited and it would eventually run out

They would eventually miss their own bed and waking up to a lazy Sunday afternoon

They would eventually settle down

Neither of them asked if they would be settling down in Beacon Hills

But both were wondering it all the same

It was an aching wound, the hole in Stiles' heart

And it was triggered in more ways than Derek could count

_This hit, that ice cold  
Michelle Phieffer, that white gold_

Derek stopped walking suddenly, glancing at Stiles and waiting

He knew Stiles could hear it

Even if he wasn't a werewolf and they were in a busy mall, Stiles had an uncanny ear for music and could hear just about any song he recognized no matter how hard it was to actually hear

_This one for them hood girls  
Them good girls, straight masterpeices_

He still wasn't singing

He swallowed, looking over at Stiles and waiting, hoping that he would perk up at the sound of the song

He didn't

So Derek did the only thing he could- he inhaled, took Stiles' hand as they walked, and on cue-

"I'm too hot," he said in a monotone

Stiles jerked his head up, staring at him in surprise

He was always the one to say "I'm too hot"...

"Call the police and the fireman," he added a beat later

Stiles watched him carefully, and sure enough, a second later, he repeated himself

"I'm too hot," this time it was a little quieter, just a little bit more sing-song

"Hot damn," Stiles said cautiously

"Make a dragon wanna retire man," Derek smirked

Stiles' lips broke into a small smile

"I'm too hot,"

"Hot damn!"

"Say my name you know who I am,"

Stiles laughed, and very seriously considered screaming "Derek Hale" at him, but he figured that might make Derek stop and he didn't want that

It was all Stiles could do to pry the "Hot damn"s out of Derek whenever the song played, he may never get this opportunity again and he needed to cherish it

What was really surprising though was that Derek didn't stop after he started to cheer up- he really kept going

And he seemed to relax and ease into letting himself enjoy the song as he went too

"Boys hit your hallelujah,"

"Ohh!!" Stiles cheered

"Boys hit your hallelujah," he repeated, a grin now firmly on his face and barely able to contain a giggle as Stiles let out another dramatic "Ohh!!"

"Boys hit your hallelujah!"

"Ohh!!"

It was unfortunate but they didn't get any further than that before they reached the boutique they had been heading to, thus promptly ending their little sing-along

"Oh my God this is the best, I can't wait to get Collin O'Donough's face on my body," Stiles chirped as he raced straight towards the back of Hot Topic

"That wounds me just a little bit," Derek hummed teasingly as he followed a few steps behind

"Oh come on, I let you sleep with Norman Reedus on our bed,"

"No that blanket would still be your's, you've accumulated no less than six of them and I really need to stop you soon,"

"I'm stocking up for the winter!" Stiles huffed

"Stiles it's August,"

"So winter is coming," he smirked, jabbing Derek in the ribs and winking at him

Derek rolled his eyes and feigned annoyance but just stepped away to look at some pajama pants hanging on the wall near the blankets

"You should get a new pair of PJ pants Der, after what happened to your grey ones,"

"You mean how you DESTROYED them?" Derek teased

Stiles sputtered, flailing slightly and clutching the new Once Upon A Time blanket to his chest

"RUDE! I didn't ruin them!"

"You wore them out of bed one morning and set them on fire because you fell asleep making waffles- you destroyed them," Derek shrugged

"SO rude," Stiles sighed, shaking his head

Derek just stuck his tongue out over his shoulder at him, losing sight of him for a minute as he looked through the pants

"You're Hagrid,"

He let go of the grey pair he had been examining and turned around, squinting at the arm load of Pop Vinyl figures Stiles was holding

"Awww Der!!! Kiki's Delivery Service pants? With JIJI!? Do it, do the thing, you can get half off PLUS my 15% discount!" he winked

Derek inhaled

"I realize you have an unhealthy obsession with those ridiculous little things Stiles but a line has to be drawn somewhere, we aren't even going to be home for another three days, we can't haul those things around in the Toyota across several state lines," he insisted

"No Der listen-"

"It's bad enough that you made us carry the Hannibal ones all the way back from Arkansas," he snorted back

Stiles pouted- not the cute "I want your attention and I'm two seconds away from pulling the puppy stunt from Lady & The Tramp" pout- the real, "You aren't listening to me" pout

And Derek stopped

Derek listened

"I'm sorry, what is it?"

Stiles set (see: dumped) the boxes on the open counter space in front of them and started uprighting them

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Rubius Hagrid all stood perfectly aligned in front of him

"What am I looking at here?"

"US!" Stiles huffed, chewing his lip and rubbing the back of his neck

"Scott's Harry, obviously, I'm Ron, duh, and Lydia is Hermione- ofcourse, you're Hagrid, actually you're Neville, you're the unexpected hero, the one who COULD have risen if everybody hadn't been concentrated on the hero-hero, the one with all the courage and bad luck who always gets overlooked... but they don't have a Neville yet, and Kira is Ginny I think, cute and awkward one second but could totally skin people alive the next, I don't think Malia is Luna though, although that'd be the silver trio, I think Malia is more... hm... or maybe Luna is closer to... ah...-"

"Stiles," he interrupted, causing Stiles to jerk his head up and emerge from his thoughts

"It's ok, I get it, don't you want to wait on Hagrid until we get a wave two to see if 'my' Neville is in it though?" he asked, picking up the boxes one by one

He may not understand the craze of these little things

He probably never would

But he understood what Stiles was saying and he understood why he needed that

Something tangible, even if it wasn't

"Nah, even if they do come out with a second wave Hagrid is special, he's my favorite,"

"I thought Hermione was your favorite,"

"Well yeah she is, like my... my favorite favorite you know? But Hagrid is my 'defend until the apocalypse' cinnamon roll favorite,"

Derek sighed and silently wept for today's youth, Stiles had just delved into internet slang- he was sure of it

"Whatever makes you comfortable," Derek finally said, giving him a small smile and gathering the boxes

"Seriously though dude get the pants, discounts Derek, discounts!"

Derek rolled his eyes

"You can't sleep in your sweatpants all the time and like you said, we won't even be home for a few more days," Stiles insisted, stopping in front of him and wrapping his arms around his waist

"Derek, remember what we said about doing nice things for yourself?"

"I have nice things," he shrugged, bumping his forehead against Stiles'

"I have the nicest thing,"

"Oh... oh GOD you gigantic flirt that was so cheesy and terrible!"

"And true,"

Stiles sighed, shaking his head

"No, nope, I have the nicest thing ever, I have the thing that travels across the country eating at Ihop every other day and rescuing supernatural creatures from life and letting me pile up six blankets on the bed in August 'cause I'm always cold, nicest thing,"

Derek smiled and shook his head

"I have the thing that lets me have my favorite pizza toppings and goes to bed when I go to bed just so he can cuddle with me even though he's busy trying to master his magic skills, nicest thing,"

Stiles stuck his tongue out, kissing Derek quickly and grabbing the pants, dangling them almost tauntingly in front of Derek on his way to the counter

It was fine, Derek smacked his butt on their way out of the store and Stiles was flustered the entire way to the parkinglot


End file.
